What we can do with the IBM MQ Explorer

We can use the IBM MQ Explorer to perform administration tasks using a series of Content Views and Property dialogs. We can also extend the IBM MQ Explorer by writing one, or more, Eclipse plugins.

IBM MQ Explorer tasks

With the IBM MQ Explorer, we can perform the following tasks:

• Create and delete a queue manager (on your local machine only).
• Start and stop a queue manager (on your local machine only).
• Define, display, and alter the definitions of IBM MQ objects such as queues and channels.
• Browse the messages on a queue.
• Start and stop a channel.
• View status information about a channel, listener, queue, or service objects.
• View queue managers in a cluster.
• Check to see which applications, users, or channels have a particular queue open.
• Create a new queue manager cluster using the Create New Cluster wizard.
• Add a queue manager to a cluster using the Add Queue Manager to Cluster wizard.
• Manage the authentication information object, used with Transport Layer Security (TLS) channel security.
• Create and delete channel initiators, trigger monitors, and listeners.
• Start or stop the command servers, channel initiators, trigger monitors, and listeners.
• Set specific services to start automatically when a queue manager is started.
• Modify the properties of queue managers.
• Change the local default queue manager.
• Invoke the ikeyman GUI to manage TLS certificates, associate certificates with queue managers, and configure and set up certificate stores (on your local machine only).
• Create JMS objects from IBM MQ objects, and IBM MQ objects from JMS objects.
• Create a JMS Connection Factory for any of the currently supported types.
• Modify the parameters for any service, such as the TCP port number for a listener, or a channel initiator queue name.
• Start or stop the service trace.

Content Views and Property dialogs

You perform administration tasks using a series of Content Views and Property dialogs.

Content View

A Content View is a panel that can display the following:

• Attributes, and administrative options relating to IBM MQ itself.
• Attributes, and administrative options relating to one or more related objects.
• Attributes, and administrative options for a cluster.

Property dialogs

A property dialog is a panel that displays attributes relating to an object in a series of fields, some of which we can edit.

You navigate through the IBM MQ Explorer using the Navigator view. The Navigator allows you to select the Content View you require.

Extending the IBM MQ Explorer

The IBM MQ Explorer presents information in a style consistent with that of the Eclipse framework and the other plug-in applications that Eclipse supports.

Through extending the IBM MQ Explorer, system administrators have the ability to customize the IBM MQ Explorer to improve the way they administer IBM MQ.

For more information, see Extending MQ Explorer.

• Deciding whether to use the IBM MQ Explorer
  When deciding whether to use the IBM MQ Explorer at your installation, consider the information listed in this topic.
• Remote queue managers
  The IBM MQ Explorer can connect to all supported queue managers, with two exceptions.

Parent topic: Administration using the IBM MQ Explorer